Rahimpour made the remarks in a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Friday in Yerevan.

During the meeting, the Iranian diplomat referred to the visit of President Rouhani to Armenia in December 2016 and deemed it an important factor for boosting up the process of developing ties between the two countries.

Rahimpour then noted the significance of energy cooperation in the economy of both countries, calling for closer cooperation for realization of related projects as well as an increase in electricity and gas swap between Iran and Armenia.

The Armenian top diplomat, for his part, voiced his country’s readiness for expanding relations with Iran in all areas, and called for further regional cooperation for electricity transfer in the form of bilateral, trilateral and quadrilateral between Iran, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia, as well gas swap projects between Iran, Armenia, and Turkmenistan.

Nalbandian attached high importance to the visa waiver program between the two countries, and welcomed the increase in the number of Iranian tourists to his country. He also called on Iran to remove obstacles to the entry of Armenian tourists to Iran by car.

The two sides also discussed plans for the upcoming visit of Armenian Prime Minister to Tehran.

Rahimpour also held talks with Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan and Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Ashot Manukyan.